1. Revealing Research: The Coalbrookdale Company orders archive

    In a project made possible through a Headley Fellowship with Art Fund, a little-known part of our archive has been brought to light.

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  2. The Project

    The project took place over the course of a year. During that time, the archive was condition checked, catalogued, researched, and then re-housed in new archival-grade materials. 

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  3. The Products

    From fountains to tomb railing and vases, take a look at what was being made. 

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  4. The Clients

    Clients included sculptors, engineers, builders, architects and district councils. Take a closer look at who was ordering ironwork from Coalbrookdale.  

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  5. The Workers

    ’Many workmen and boys were dubbed with nicknames; here are just a few: Raspass, MagpieIron Mike, Teddy-lol-lol, Cottage Tom, Spot Tom and 6ft Tom…’  [Charles Peskin, c. 1900] 

    By the middle of the 19th century, the Coalbrookdale Company employed between 3,000 and 4,000 men. Little is known about them, although census and archival research has shed light on a handful. Below, you can meet a few of the workers who were directly referenced in the order archive. 

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  6. Artistry, delight and the ‘working drawings’

    The Coalbrookdale Company relied on a team of skilled draughtsmen to produce special drawings called technical drawings. These drawings were used to make, display, and record the Company’s products.

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  7. Photography Department

    The Coalbrookdale Company was working with photographers as early as 1855 and had a dedicated photographic studio from at least 1862. The photography department took photographs of new iron products being made at the ironworks, as well as dealing with other printed material such as blueprints and trade catalogues.

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  8. Schools of Art

    In response to the relatively poor British designs on display at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the 'Science and Art Department' was established by the Board of Education in 1856, in South Kensington.

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  9. Students of the School of Art

    Many students at the Coalbrookdale School of Art already worked in the industries of the Gorge, including the Coalbrookdale Company, Craven Dunnill & Co. and Maw & Co. These companies often paid for their employees to attend art classes, to learn their craft and develop their designing skills.

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  10. MANY HANDS: THE SKILLS AND TRADES OF INDUSTRY

    Very few of the men, women and children who worked in industry across the Ironbridge Gorge have left a written record of themselves or their lives and so we can struggle to find their voices. However, every object manufactured in the Gorge is evidence of the labour and lives of these workers and the objects displayed across the Ironbridge Gorge Museums demonstrate their skill and efforts.

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  11. WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD

    The ironworkers of Coalbrookdale helped to develop innovations that revolutionised industry, power, and transport across the globe.

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  12. CLOCKING IN

    Just like today, the amount of money earned for a day’s labour was often a sensitive issue.

    For a greater level of skill or a greater risk of danger, as in ironworking and mining, workers would sometimes receive higher than average wages. However, wages could be affected by both booms and severe depressions in trade.

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  13. UNCERTAIN TIMES

    Industrial work in the Gorge was often insecure and injury, illness, old age, or death could lead to workers’ families suffering greatly. In a time before the welfare state, financial support was very limited and a fall in wages or being out of work could mean destitution.

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  14. ON THE SEVENTH DAY THEY RESTED

    Religion has always played a role in industrial workers’ lives, but its importance increased in the Gorge in the early 19th century as Methodism grew in popularity. Methodism is a non-conformist form of Protestant Christianity that was especially popular with the working class as its early supporters specifically reached out to workers, offering simpler methods of worship and encouraging a simple, thrifty, and sober life.

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